


Chase the Darkness Away

by alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice



Series: Tumblr requests and self-indulgent fluff pieces [4]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Depression, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Magic, Mental Health Issues, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:27:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26497858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice/pseuds/alls_fair_in_pride_and_prejudice
Summary: The reader has a very bad mental/physical health day. Aaravos comes home and takes care of them.
Relationships: Aaravos (The Dragon Prince)/Reader
Series: Tumblr requests and self-indulgent fluff pieces [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920859
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Chase the Darkness Away

**Author's Note:**

> Another Tumblr request, this one incidentally turned into therapy for myself. In this AU, I'm working on the idea that while Aaravos was in the mirror for a few centuries, Xadia advanced to modern-day technology. Now Aaravos is out of the mirror and adjusting to the world (how did he meet the reader? How did he escape? That's up to you to decide!)  
> I tagged this as mental health and depression, but I tried to leave the health issues vague. This behavior is also in line when my chronic pain issues flare up, so I suppose it could go either way, but it's more mental-health focused.

“Darling? How long have you been sitting there like that?”

I did not hear him come in, curled in on myself in a ball on the couch. I straighten myself, causing my back to protest in pain. “Um… what are you doing home already?” I ask, hastily wiping at the dried tear tracks on my face.

Aaravos furrows his brow ever so slightly. “It’s six pm.”

Oh… that means I have been sitting like this in my miserable state for… seven hours. My stomach growls, protesting the fact that in that time I forgot to eat. Aaravos sits next to me, reaching out to take one of my hands in his, unclenching my fists with some gentle prodding. “When was the last time you ate?” His lovely voice is laced with concern and gentleness.

Ashamed, I mumble my answer, “I had some cereal around ten-thirty.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not enough. You need to take care of yourself.” With surprising strength (or not so surprising, he had a lot of time to build up his strength during his solitude) he pulls me off the sofa and shoos me to the bathroom. “Go take a shower while I make dinner. You’ll feel better, and I expect you to _eat_ when you get back.”

He has such a commanding presence that even my depressed ass cannot refuse him, although my shower consists more of staring into the void than actual cleaning. When I return with towel-dried hair, Aaravos is putting the finishing touches on a pasta dish. His options for sustenance were so limited in the mirror that he has really taken to cooking ever since regaining his freedom. When I sit down at the kitchen table, he places a heaping portion in front of me. “Try not to eat too fast; I would not want you to get sick.”

He sets up his own serving and sits next to me on the small table. All I can do is stare at the food in front of me as tears well up in my eyes. Aaravos stops in the middle of a bite to lean over and stroke my cheek, catching a tear with his thumb as it spills over my lashes. “What’s going on, love?”

I do not deserve him, this gorgeous, magical man that, after a long day, comes home to see me having done nothing of worth and sets about taking care of me with barely a word. I feel too pathetic, too weak to be in his life, and there seems to be nothing I can do about it, about the demons that came to plague my mind and body today. There is nothing I want more than to be better for him, to rely on my own strength instead of having him help care for me. Why should he care about my struggles? When will he see that I am not worth his love and leave me?

But on top of everything else wrong with me, my voice decides to stop working now, too, and I cannot share with him what troubles me. Aaravos waits patiently for me to answer until all I can give him is the indication that I cannot speak. He pulls his chair closer to me and touches his fingers to my forehead. “May I?” he is asking permission to use a spell on me, to which I nod.

With a few muttered words and a sweeping motion on my head, his eyes begin to glow, light sunlight shining through an opal. I bring all my thoughts to the surface, all the pain and conflicting emotions, hoping he will understand. When the light fades, Aaravos pulls me into an almost crushing hug, arms like a vise around me. “It’s okay, I understand,” he whispers in my ear.

When he pulls away, he takes a forkful of food and holds it up to my mouth. “Please just eat a few bites,” he requests. Then, with a teasing tone and that hot smirk of his, he adds, “Do not make me feed you, I know your pride would not survive it.”

I take the fork from him and eat a bite. It is delicious, of course, because apparently this elf has to be amazing at everything he does, the lovely bastard. We set about eating together in silence, until I see a butterfly flit over my food. It floats along and lands on the back of my hand, wings opening and closing lazily. It looks like a piece of the night sky was caught on its wings.

Glancing up, I see the entire kitchen covered with these butterflies, flitting around and glowing like fireflies. It makes the room feel like a planetarium and butterfly garden all at once, my two favorite places to go brought to our home. I leap out of my seat to enjoy the sight better. They are clearly illusions, since they disappear if I touch their wings, and I cannot feel them if they land on me, but I could care less for how beautiful it looks. I twirl in the swarm of butterflies, my worries temporarily forgotten. Aaravos stands from the table to hug me from behind and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “It is good to see you smiling again.”

I lean back into him, turning my head to kiss him on the lips. “You’re an expert at making me smile.”

Aaravos continues to hold me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Did you think I spent every day in my prison constantly productive? Reading and improving myself and attempting to escape?”

I am a bit surprised by the question. “Well… yeah I guess I did,” I admit.

Aaravos chuckles, a hollow sound that seems almost sad. “I did not. There were days that all I could manage was to stare into space, days I felt so numb that I could barely move. I did my best, but there were many times that my best only consisted of breathing.” He spins me around in his arms so I can see the sincerity in his golden eyes. “So, do not, for a moment, believe that I think less of you for these days you struggle. I help you because I care about you and because I had no one to help me.”

When I am in pain, I can forget about how much Aaravos has been hurt, especially since he carries himself with such grace and strength. I pull his face to mine so our foreheads touch, a reminder to the both of us that we are no longer alone.

One by one, the butterflies dissolve into stardust and disappear, and when we go to bed, we hold each other close, the mere presence of the other enough to chase the demons away for a little while, leaving us refreshed to fight again in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on my tumblr! https://alls-fair-in-pride-and-prejudice.tumblr.com  
> Sending all my love to the people that can relate to the MC in this story. I hope this provided a little comfort. You're not alone, you're not weak, and you're worthy of love.


End file.
